1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a change lever mechanism for manipulating a change lever, and more particularly to a change lever mechanism of a vehicle constructed and arranged to provide a good shifting feel to a change lever when the change lever is shifted, and to absorb vibration transmitted from the engine to thereby prevent transmission of the vibration to a body of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a vehicle is equipped with a transmission for transmitting a driving force generated from an engine to an appropriate running state, where the transmission is operated by manipulation of a change lever provided at a driver""s seat, particularly a rod-type change lever mechanism of a vehicle mounted with a manual transmission as illustrated in FIG. 1.
In other words, a change lever 1 is mounted thereon with a speed change knob 2 for a driver to hold thereon, where the change lever 1 is made of a hollow member extended lengthwise downwards, and is covered thereunder with a dust cover 3 for preventing entry of foreign objects; a bottom end of lever 1 is pivotally and rotatably secured.
The change lever 1 centrally passes through a ball 4 and is secured to the ball 4 via a pin 5. The ball 4 is accommodated in a housing 6 formed therein with a spherical inner space. The housing 6 has a top opening to accommodate the change lever 1 therein and includes an upper plate 6a to encompass an upper part of the ball 4 at an inner circumferential surface and a lower plate 6b formed to encompass a lower part of the ball 4. Upper and lower plates 6a, 6b are bolted to the vehicle body B.
Furthermore, the change lever 1 is mounted with a shift rod 7 via ball joint 7a for transmitting an operational direction of the change lever 1 to a transmission to allow a speed change to be realized. The housing 6 is arranged at a front side thereof with an extension bar 8 for preventing the so-called Gear Jump-Out phenomenon. Grease is coated on the ball 4 and the housing 6 as lubricant to reduce friction generated therebetween.
When a driver holds the speed change knob 2 to manipulate the change lever 1 back and forward, left and right, manipulating force thereof is transmitted to the transmission via the shift rod 7, such that speed change is realized.
However, there is a problem in the conventional change lever mechanism thus constructed in that teeth in the transmission are unmeshed to generate a Gear Jump-Out phenomenon although the extension bar 8 is mounted between the transmission and the housing 6 when a vehicle runs on a rugged road such as off-road at a sudden acceleration or deceleration, such that vibration of the engine is transmitted to the body of the vehicle via the housing 6 at the transmission mechanism, deteriorating a Noise Vibration Harshness performance of the vehicle and decreasing the shifting feel felt by the driver manipulating the change lever.
There is another problem in that an intermittent contact between the ball 4 and the housing 6 occurs due to vibration of the body B of the vehicle generated by engine operation due to spacing between the ball 4 and the housing 6 which encompasses and supports the ball 4, thereby generating noise between the ball 4 and the housing 6 because of the intermittent contact.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a change lever mechanism of a vehicle constructed and arranged to provide a good shifting feel to a change lever while the vehicle is shifted and to absorb the vibration transmitted from the engine preventing transmission of vibration to the body of the vehicle.
In accordance with the objects of the present invention, there is provided a change lever mechanism of a vehicle, the mechanism comprising:
a change lever having a speed change knob thereon and a yoke unit thereunder;
speed change manipulating means formed with a spherical shift ball at a middle portion of the change lever to provide a manipulating force while the change lever is shifted;
change lever attachment means having a hinge axle for rotatably supporting the yoke unit of the change lever, an attachment body for rotatably supporting the hinge axle, and a detent device for supporting the yoke unit with a staccato feel;
vibration attenuating means having a protruder attached to the attachment body via a third attachment unit, a first attachment unit for attaching the attachment body to a vehicle body in vibration-free fashion and a second attachment unit protruding from the first attachment unit for fixing the first attachment unit to the vehicle body; and
manipulating force-transmitting means having a cylindrical unit coupled to the shift ball of the change lever for transmitting the speed change manipulating force generated by the speed change manipulating means, and a shift rod coupled to one end of the cylindrical unit.